Springfield Armory® Blog

When I began my life of daily carry almost 30 years ago, I carried what was approved and available. My respect of the .45 ACP round goes this far back, as that is when I chose to purchase a single stack .45 ACP as the handgun which would reside in my holster. I actually opted out of the .357 revolver that was department issued at the time.

One of the greatest benefits about writing these blogs and being involved with Springfield Armory® is that occasionally they will send new products to experiment with before they are released. Normally this process is relatively secretive - if a product has not been released, it CAN'T be shown to the general public.

Also, the secret product may not be in the final stage of development. I have a lot of respect for this process and I'm very careful to make sure I don’t do anything to violate their trust.

Do you love the M1A™? It’s a classic battle rifle that’s served in the U.S. Armed Forces as the M14 and can still be seen in service, albeit in a limited role. It first entered service in 1957 and was standard-issue from 1959 to 1970. In fact, this year is the 60th anniversary of the M14's entry into service.

In honor of this rifle, over the past 11 years, Springfield Armory® has sponsored the M1A™ Match at Camp Perry.

Not familiar with the match? We spoke with Springfield’s Facilities Manager Mike Doy to give us some background and details on this decade-old tradition.

In competition mode, speed and accuracy in every aspect are paramount.

The competition holster undeniably provides the shooter with the best opportunity for drawing the gun out of the holster and onto the target in the least amount of time. Essentially, the single most important benefit of using a competition holster is consistency. And also speed. And then there's the flexibility. Well... you get the idea. There are a lot of benefits.

Competitive shooting has grown as a sport. Once, these competitions only involved shooting at stationary targets at your own pace. Today, there are a wide variety of competitive shooting events involving speed, timing, movement and agility, making competitive shooting more exciting than ever. The competitive shooting world is also one of the most accessible sports for beginners. With the right instruction and dedication, anybody can shoot. There are so many different events within the world of competitive shooting it can be difficult for beginners to pick one to focus on. While everyone has their own preferences and styles, 3-gun competitions are becoming the preferred choice for many.

Springfield Armory® recommends you seek qualified and competent training from a certified instructor prior to handling any firearm and be sure to read your owner’s manual. These articles are considered to be suggestions and not recommendations from Springfield Armory®.